The Jab

Why the cheapest punch in boxing is the most misunderstood idea in corporate strategy Nobody has ever been carried out on a stretcher by a jabWatch a boxing highlight reel and you will see the last three seconds of a forty minute argument. The overhand right. The hook that arrives from outside the frame. The moment the legs stop being legs. What you will not see, because nobody edits it in, is the punch that was thrown more times than every other punch combined. The jab does almost no damage. It ends almost no fights. And every trainer who has ever lived says the same thing, usually while shouting it at someone who is not listening - the fight is won or lost by the jab. This is because the jab is not really a punch. It is an instrument. Four things happen when a fighter extends the lead hand, and only one of them involves hurting anyone. It measures. An extended arm is a ruler with a fist on the end. If the jab grazes the chin, the cross lands. If it falls short, the cross is a gift…